wide and hugged when they came together. Human men might find it awkward to show displays of affection, but not clones. It was so rare for anyone to care enough to want to touch them.
“I thought you were dead, damn it.” Big squeezed him tighter.
“I damn near did die, many times. Let’s just say I’ll never consider pirates a part of my family.”
They released each other but stayed close. Big appraised him from head to foot. “You’re in one piece.”
“I’ve still got all my fingers and toes. They didn’t steal any body parts. Just my time.”
“What in the hell happened?” Big glanced toward the shuttle behind him.
“One of my engines overheated on my shuttle and it blew up. The damage was extensive and even knocked out the secondary systems. I was working to repair communications first, to reach out for help, but pirates happened to find me at the worst time. They caught me completely unaware. One minute I was replacing fried wires, and the next I had weapons pointed at me. The only reason they didn’t float me was because I admitted I was a clone, in hopes that it would give me more time to escape. I thought they’d want to turn me in to the authorities for a reward. Instead, they kept me.” Blade shrugged. “Free labor.”
“Damn. You couldn’t sneak a call out to us in all that time?”
“Even if I could have, the odds were too great for any of you to attempt to rescue me. They already had one clone. I didn’t want to add to their numbers. I was kept at an old way station where over two hundred pirates live.”
“I would have come for you.”
Blade nodded, feeling emotion strong enough that he had to swallow before he spoke. “I know. That’s why I didn’t try to contact you until I was safely away.”
“How did you do it? Did you take the woman with you when you got away from the pirates?”
“Her name is Hailey. She’s human, if you hadn’t guessed by what I didn’t say. I asked her to stay inside while we spoke. She’s the reason I’m home. The pirate crew that kept me went after that luxury shuttle. It flew into their hunting territory, and the pilot didn’t try to fight us off in any way. We docked with it and entered. You remember the maker of these models, don’t you?”
“Varlius. Top of the line.”
“Exactly. I knew something was serious wrong on the shuttle before we even boarded. The computer would have alerted them about our approach. It was my job to take care of the crew. The pirates sent me to do so—with a weapon that wouldn’t hold a charge. I found four dead humans who had overdosed on drugs, but the captain’s cabin had been sealed. There was no response when I tried to reach whoever was inside.”
“They don’t seal from the outside. Only from the inside.”
Blade nodded. “I knew someone had to be in there, but I figured they might have overdosed, too. So I ran the override codes. Hailey was locked in there. Those four dead assholes had snatched her from a colony planet. She’s a beautiful woman…”
Big grimaced. “I can imagine their motive.”
“She sealed herself in the captain’s cabin before they could hurt her. She’d been in there for two weeks when I found her, with a broken thumb. She broke it to escape the handcuffs they’d put her in. I rendered aid, and now her injury is almost completely healed.”
“A Varlius med kit onboard?”
Blade nodded. “I killed the pirate crew with me, since I couldn’t let them find her, and I had an undamaged ride to get away with. All the other ships they targeted while I was part of their crew put up a good fight, and were disabled by the time I got a chance to enter them.”
“You told her that you’re a clone?”
“Yes. She knows you’re one, too.”
Big crossed his arms.
“Hailey is a sweetheart. She’s a teacher on a small mining colony. I’m the first and only clone she’s ever met. She took it surprisingly well. You’ll like her, Big. Give her a chance.”
“Are you a couple?”
“For now.”
Big’s mouth pressed together, showing his displeasure. “What does that mean? You’re only with her for temporary sex? And you brought her here? What were you thinking?”
His own temper rose. “I don’t think of her as temporary anything. I’d love for her to stay with me forever if it were possible. She was kidnapped from